18 Jun First Blog Post: A Basic Question

This is an important question for people interested in caring for themselves or for others. It is the question that has guided care at Mayo Clinic for more than a century. The Mayo Brothers placed before all else the needs of each person they served, and the organization they established has continued to do the same. Nationally, despite the best efforts of so many to address human need, a complicated system of unprecedented expense and inequality has lead to a crisis in health and in health care. So, as everyone from individual Twitterers to the Obama Administration works toward making things better, it may be worthwhile to consider that basic question: what does a person need to be well?

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51 Comments

Robert Fines

Posted at 21:01h, 24 June

Finally, someone’s asking the right question.

KIM

Posted at 19:41h, 27 June

I HAVE A 2 PART QUESTION IN LIGHT OF THE PASSING OF FARRAH FAWCETT AFTER A REMARKABLY COURAGEOUS BATTLE WITH CANCER. GIVEN ALL THE RUN-OF-THE-MILL RECOMMENDATIONS OF STAYING WELL, THERE IS STILL A GREAT PART OF HUMANITY THAT INEVITABLY SUCCUMB TO CANCER, & THAT INCLUDES MS. FAWCETT. I OPINE THAT A CURE DOES NOT WANT TO BE HAD BECAUSE THAT LARGELY DESTROYS THE INDUSTRY. IS NOT THERE SOME REMEDY IN SOME RAINFOREST? WHAT ABOUT THIS TREATMENT WITH CESIUM? U. KANSAS DOCS ARE NOW INJECTING A FORM OF ASCORBIC ACID DIRECTLY INTO CANCER TUMORS WHICH CAUSE A CHEMICAL REACTION TO PRODUCE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE WHICH DESTROYS THE CANCER CELL. THEN WHY IS THIS TREATMENT NOT HEADLINES? WHY ALL THE NAYSAYERS? YOU WOULD FIGURE NOW WELL INTO THE 21ST CENTURY WE WOULD HAVE IMPROVED OUR CURE & REMISSION RATES. PESTICIDES, HEAVY METALS, BENZENE, & TOBACCO ASIDE, WHY ARE STILL SO MANY PEOPLE DYING. GOD WHEN I GO TO THE OUTPATIENT CENTER JUST TO GET ORDINARY BLOODWORK, ONE CANNOT HELP BUT VIEW THE MANY PATIENTS IN THE RECEPTION AREA OF THE ONCOLOGY DOCS. MY SENTIMENT IS WHAT’S THE USE? THIS IS ALL A GAME. MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE GONNA DIE ANYHOW, THEY’LL JUST DIE AFTER SPENDING LOTS OF MONEY. THIS DISEASE TOUCHES US ALL. I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY IN 1 BLINK THEY CAN FIND TAXOL FROM A YEW TREE, & YET CAN’T FIND ANYTHING ELSE ON THE GLOBE TO TARGET THESE CELLS WITH SUCCESS.

I do hope and believe that cancer someday will be a thing of the past. In the meantime, I have never met a person involved at any level of health care who does not want a cure to be found as soon as possible. To be clear, there are many, many people who dedicate their professional and personal lives to finding cures for cancer and for countless other diseases. I have the utmost respect and gratitude for these individuals and for their work. I’m sure they would ask for nothing more than the obsolescence of their profession.

Your point about the rainforest is an excellent one, and this is an area of great potential. A longtime friend, Dr. Eric Chivian, is Director of Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment (http://chge.med.harvard.edu). That center’s very mission is, “to help people understand that our health, and that of our children, depends on the health of the environment, and that we must do everything we can to protect it.” Dr. Chivian and his team make it their business to spread awareness of the many remedies already found in rainforests and other biomes and to protect environments that hold the innumerable other remedies yet to be identified.

Also on the bright side, there is a growing movement from paper, subscription-based scientific journals, toward open-access, online journals. An already-observed consequence of this trend is a shorter turnaround from study conclusion to publication. Hopefully, this more rapid sharing of insights will lead us sooner to the cures we all want.

Hunter

Posted at 11:06h, 11 July

The difficulty with treating cancers and that seems to be the right choice of words is “cancers” that with so many different types there is not a one size fits all treatment. The expanse of treatments that are available do cannot be put into the one size fits all bin.

Take breast cancer as an example. In addition to chemotherapy drugs, there are a variety of targeted drugs for breast cancer treatment.

A physician might prescribe hormonal therapies, such as SERMs (selective estrogen receptor modulators) or aromatase inhibitors to prevent estrogen from reaching the tumor. This helps to slow the growth and reproduction of breast cancer cells.

Then there is tamoxifen, the most common hormone therapy drug used today for both early and advanced stage breast cancer treatment.

You can see when it comes to breast cancer what works on one type does no work on others. There is no one size fits all, and adding the genetic component make it even more difficult. I do believe that supplements that are natural such as resveratrol, which is a rich antioxidant compound that can be found mainly in the skins of red grapes (especially Vitis vinifera, labrusca, and muscadine grapes, which are used to produce red wines) blueberries, mulberries, and peanuts may offer a glimpse into treatment options of the future.

However, taking the human element into the picture, people in general have to be more proactive when it comes to their own health, and that is the bottom line.
Hunter

I believe this is a loaded question. Not only does a person need their physical health needs met they also need their mental health needs met as well. Usually we only focus on physical health and don’t even look at the effects mental health can have on the body. I’m not saying you can “think away” cancer but I believe your thoughts and feelings can help prevent it.

I think this question varies from person to person. For example one person might think the right diet is the key to staying well, while others have the mentality of “we all are gonna die someday”. My personal believe is to be well its not just proper diet and exercise, but also mental health.

Interesting question. I have a chronically ill child, so I really focus on doing what I can to keep her healthy during the times when she IS healthy.

ssp

Posted at 20:05h, 28 September

Such a simple question if asked could provide so many useful answers. This questions should be asked by the doctor to himself and he should also ask the patient. Because people have an innate wisdom where they know everything if they could just trust themselves enough to listen to the wisdom from within.

I usually doing regular exercise, eat healthy foods, and have enough rest. We won’t realize how important is our health until we get sick, so better doing healthy life before we loose our health.

todayselfesteem

Posted at 00:20h, 04 October

This made me immediate think that what does a person need to be really well is a sound loving partnership with their loved ones and understanding and peace within the family. I believe that without this stress will be a precursor to being unwell. Mental health is extremely important and we should all try to have harmony in our lives.

I think the main thing many need to start doing is getting back to caring for your basic needs. This means eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and limiting your sugar/salt intake. It seems many in the US are getting away from fixing there own food and are starting to rely on fattening restaurants for their every meal. If people would be educated in what to eat and if others would help make this food affordable to lower incomes then we would see some progress. I also believe that we need to get health-care reform done soon so we can take control of our own health again and not leave it to profit hungry corporations.

Very good question, good health is of course a big part of the equation as others already comments on.. but who can’t say what we really need. I think more we need more stuff more people tend to not be happy.

Oh well, we could bring to memory Maslow’s pyramid of needs and start with hygiene needs first. Physical health is very well connected to our mental condition, and that is based on how well we do in life. Some say, we are what we eat. Start with food, maybe?

Diet and exercise is great but the key to a long and healthy life is really just simple happiness. My grandparents both lived into their hundreds and they commented regularly they had never been happier.

They also traveled EXTENSIVELY and took a sojourn to South America on a 10-day Panama Canal cruise both when they were in their late 80’s.

I’d settle for a lifespan a couple decades less than them. Here’s hoping I inherited their long-living genes.

What does a person need to be well encompasses more than just medical care. Emotional well being along with physical is very important. Does this mean we cover everything that has to do with well being? The original question to me deals with “what do ALL people deserve for medical care?” I am not sure.

That is a good question. Well is defined differently by what region you are from and your economic status. It would be hard to pin that down. I will be interested to see how Obama defines it. Am not sure that sort of definition is best for everyone and somewhat impinges on my freedoms and liberty. Doesn’t anyone else see that?

Interesting debate. Doesn’t the fact that more people (certainly in the west) are living much longer innevitably mean that cancer rates increase? Does the fact that cancer is still mainly a disease of “old age” mean that it is, for certain susceptible individuals, a natual part of aging?

We need to cut down out exposure to chemicals, in what we use and eat etc. But I don’t agree with ‘healthy as’ that people are deliberately stalling the search for a cure for cancer just because they would lose their funding – that is a ridiculous notion!

To be well means to me to feel well, to feel good, to feel happy. It involves an interaction between mind and body. You can have elements of physical ill health and yet still feel well. But you will never feel well unless your mind is focused positively.

While maintaining a healthy diet is important, we can’t downplay the fact that it’s incredibly important to have good genetics. Unfortunately, you can’t always control that. So in the meantime, proper diet and exercise while we wait for technology to catch up.

What does a person need to be well is a subject that will never be exhausted. While health care prices continue rise, you think everyone from Obama to the common voter would to health practitioners would turn some of their efforts to prevention in the way of what we eat and exercise. The old saying “You are what you eat” is so true and it starts with our children. Garbage in garbage out. Our bodies can only take so much and then the finally start “complaining” in the form of “disease”. Yes, there are folks that did everything right…and still developed cancer, etc., but that is not the average. Education on foods that heal and natural health itself should at least be some of our focus.

One clue about the answer may relate to the fact that we are each different and what does a person need to be well, mat be best answered in terms of the person. Obviously the health needs of an anorexic are totally different from those of an obese person. Then there is the issue of our unique genetic make up.

But I do find smiling, a little exercise, good mostly vegetarian food helps most people.

I agree completely with Alex McCarthy ( Sept 10th). There is a strong link to the mental state, when fighting cancer. My dad just went through it. His faith and his “Best Generation” never say die attitude..along with treatment… got him into remission, even though his chances were limited.

I’ve had him as a mentor, all my life… and I hope I’ve passed his attitude down to my children.

Good question and I think the answer varies depending on the individual or group. But I guess my question is after spending billions and billions of dollars, does anyone else think it odd that we are not closer to a cure?

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